Neptune
Brett and Zack
General Info
 8th planet from the sun
 Fourth largest in diameter (smaller in diameter but
larger in mass than Uranus)
 4,504,000,000 km from the sun
 49,532 km in diameter
 1.0247^26 kg in mass
Info Continued
 Neptune (Poseidon in green language) means god of
the sea
 13 moons
 Magnetic Field is off-centered and at a large angle to
it’s rotation axis
Moons
 Triton is Neptune’s largest moon.
 It contains 99.5% of the mass that orbits Neptune
 Nereid
 Has one of the most eccentric orbits of all moons in our
solar system
 Proteus
 notable for being as large as a body of its density can be
without being pulled into a spherical shape by its own
gravity
Triton
Nereid
Proteus
Composition
 Icy and rocky, with about 15% helium and a little
nitrogen
 Rings: Dark with bright clumps
 May not have distinct internal layering
 Most likely a small core of rocky material
Atmosphere
 Atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, with a
small amount of methane.
 The blue color of Neptune is created by the absorption
of red light by methane in the atmosphere.
 There is also an unidentified chromophore which gives
clouds a rich blue tint.
Early Observation
 In 1613, Galileo first observed Neptune when it was
very close to Jupiter, but he thought it was just a star.
 Discovered in 1846
Visited
 Has only been visited by one spacecraft, Voyager 2, on
August 25, 1989
Work Cited
 "Neptune L Neptune Facts, Pictures and Information." The Nine
Planets Solar System Tour. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.
<http://nineplanets.org/neptune.html>.
 "Neptune." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune>.
 "The Planet Neptune." Space Projects - Space Information Space Shop. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.aerospaceguide.net/planet/planetneptune.html>.
 "Planets: Neptune." Solar System Exploration. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.
<http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Neptune>
.